As estate planning has risen in popularity over the past few years, perhaps, the largest uptick in estate planners has been Millennials, at least according to a study by Trust & Will. It may come as a shock to some, but this age group is the age group now starting families, buying homes and, possibly, also taking care of aging parents. Any one of these could be enough to push one to estate plan, let alone all three.
Reasons to estate plan
According to the study, having a child was the primary motivation for estate planning. This is not surprising as guardianships and taking care of children become the most important parts of our lives after we have kids. Next, people cited the death of a family member as the push they needed to finally create an estate plan. The final two most popular reasons to estate plan were buying a home or having an increase in net worth or income.
Most popular types of estate plans
The vast majority of study participants (75%), used a will-based estate plan. This allowed for the distributions of assets and the appointment of guardians for children and, surprisingly, pets. About 20% also set up a trust to distribute assets during their lifetime or after death to help avoid taxes and probate.
Estate planning
For our Charlotte, North Carolina, readers that do not have an estate plan, hopefully, this blog has inspired one to start their estate plan. Everyone should have an estate plan, regardless of their point in life, but the longer we wait, the more important they become.
